French B Movies: Suburban Spaces, Universalism, and the Challenge of Hollywood

In the impoverished outskirts of French cities, known as the banlieues, minority communities are turning to American culture, history, and theory to make their own voices, cultures, and histories visible. Filmmakers have followed suit, turning to Hollywood genre conventions to challenge notions of identity, belonging, and marginalization in mainstream French film.

French B Movies proposes that French banlieue films, far from being a fringe genre, offer a privileged site from which to underst...